Papagoite Gemstone: Properties, Meanings, Value & More

Papagoite (pronounced PAH-puh-goh-EYET) is a copper mineral known for its vibrant cerulean blue color. It’s related to the blue-green mineral ajoite. Both papagoite and ajoite are more often found as inclusions inside quartz gemstones.

Is papagoite rare? Definitely. Not only are papagoite minerals rare, facetable papagoite crystals are extremely rare and usually tiny. Most of the papagoite gems you’ll find for sale are actually papagoite in quartz.

Read on to find out papagoite’s properties as a mineral and gemstone, along with its history, prices, benefits, and more!

Pictured above: Miniature, very rich specimen of microcrystallized papagoite from Namibia | Image credit: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0 

What Is Papagoite?

Papagoite is a very rare, vibrant blue semi-precious gemstone often found in quartz. It can make clear quartz entirely blue or create soft areas of blue inside the crystal.

This type of quartz can be used by April babies, as clear quartz is an alternative birthstone for this month.

However, blue papagoite quartz can also serve as a more affordable alternative to more costly December birthstones like blue topaz or tanzanite. Papagoite specimens individually can also substitute for turquoise as a December birthstone, but they may be pricier than turquoise.

Speaking of similar stones, what is the difference between papagoite and ajoite?

Both papagoite and ajoite are found in similar places, often as quartz inclusions or small crystals. The main differences are:

1. Composition: Ajoite is a hydrated sodium potassium copper aluminum silicate hydroxide with the formula (Na,K)Cu7AlSi9O24(OH)6·3H2O. Papagoite is a calcium copper aluminum silicate hydroxide with the formula CaCuAlSi2O6(OH)3 or CaCu[H3AlSi2O9].

2. Color: Ajoite has a lighter, blue-green color while papagoite has a darker blue color.

3. Hardness: Ajoite is softer, at 3.5 on the Mohs scale compared to papagoite’s 5 to 5.5 ranking.

4. Streak: Ajoite has a greenish-white streak while papagoite has a light blue streak.

5. Rarity: Ajoite is slightly more common than papagoite.

On that note, let’s go over all of papagoite’s mineral properties.

Pictured above: Ajoite crystal rough from Arizona, 4mm field of view | Image credit: Leon Hupperichs

Papagoite Specifications & Characteristics

Papagoite is a calcium copper aluminum silicate hydroxide. The mineral’s formula can be written as CaCuAlSi2O6(OH)3 or CaCu[H3AlSi2O9]. Common impurities are titanium, iron, manganese, magnesium, and water.

Most of papagoite’s composition is silicon and copper oxide, though calcium oxide and aluminum oxide make up a sizable portion as well. It’s likely that the large amount of copper in the stone is behind papagoite’s characteristic blue coloring.

Developed crystals of papagoite are very small, striated, and flattened, but these are rare. More often, papagoite occurs as microcrystalline, massive aggregates and coatings (encrustations).

Papagoite properties listed:

• Mohs hardness: 5-5.5

• Color: Usually cerulean blue; Massive material may be light blue

• Crystal structure: Monoclinic

• Luster: Vitreous (glassy)

• Transparency: Translucent to transparent (crystals); Translucent to opaque (masses)

• Refractive index: 1.607-1.672

• Density: 3.25 (pure); Often lower when mixed with quartz

• Cleavage: Distinct/good on {100} in thin sections

• Fracture: Conchoidal

• Streak: Light blue

• Luminescence: None

• Pleochroism: Present and strong - colorless or very light greenish-blue to blue to deep greenish-blue

• Birefringence: 0.065

• Dispersion: Very faint

Stepping away from mineralogy, we’ll dive into papagoite’s spiritual and symbolic side next.

Pictured above: Tohono O'odham (formerly called "Papago") basketmaker at work, Arizona. Photographed by H.T. Cory, 1916 | Image credit: National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain

Papagoite Meaning & History

Papagoite is sometimes called the “Stone of Far Sight,” for the belief that it helps with various methods of extrasensory perception, like telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition or retrocognition (perceiving past or future events).

Some even say papagoite allows you to peer into your past lives.

There are also metaphysical meanings with ajoite and papagoite as a pair. Ajoite is considered a grandmother, tied to Earth, while papagoite is the grandfather (or papa, if you will), tied to the celestial plane.

History

Papagoite was first discovered in 1960 in Ajo, Arizona, USA as tiny crystals associated with ajoite.

Colin Osborne Hutton, a New Zealand-born mineralogy professor at Stanford University, and Angelina Calomeris Vlisidis, a United States Geological Survey member, wrote the first description of papagoite that same year.

Vlisidis has written the first description of ajoite (discovered in the same locale) with American mineralogist and USGS employee Waldemar Theodore Schiller in 1958.

Hutton and Vlisidis chose the name “papagoite” for the Native American tribe that lived near the original location in Arizona.

“Papago” or “Pápago” was a historical name used by Spanish colonizers for the Tohono Oʼodham tribe, though some sources claim it was used for the Hia C-eḍ Oʼodham (meaning “sand dune people”) tribe, also called “Sand Papagos,” who are considered a subtribe of the Tohono O’odham.

The term “Pápago” was apparently transliterated by the colonizers from Ba꞉bawĭkoʼa, meaning “tepary bean eater,” a term for the Tohono Oʼodham peoples used by a competing tribe in the area called the Pima or Akimel O'odham.

It’s important to note that the Tohono O’odham people have rejected the name “Papago,” preferring their original name Tohono O’odham, meaning “desert people.”

Papagoite Healing Properties

As a blue healing stone, papagoite’s metaphysical properties reflect the soothing and balancing properties of other blue gemstones. In energy healing, papagoite is a strong throat chakra stone.

What are the benefits of papagoite physically?

Physical Healing

Papagoite is said to help with physical issues related to:

• Reproductive health

• Hormone imbalance

• Anemia

• Chronic stress

Emotional Healing

Emotionally, papagoite crystals are believed to bring inner peace and spiritual growth. Crystal healers recommend papagoite for healing deep emotional wounds, balancing emotions, and dispelling negative feelings like anger, resentment, and grief.

Pictured above: Quartz crystal with bright blue papagoite inclusions from South Africa | Image credit: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0

Papagoite Gemstone Properties

Besides its rarity, papagoite’s value also depends on its color, cut, clarity, and carat weight.

Color

Papagoite only occurs in blue shades, but deeper or brighter blue papagoites are more valuable. Crystals with more even coloring can also be more valuable.

Cut

So far, no papagoite crystals have been found in large enough sizes and high enough quality to be faceted. Some massive papagoite material, often mixed with minerals like ajoite, has been cut into cabochons.

Most often, you’ll see cabochons on papagoite in quartz. This material also makes attractive and valuable rough (uncut) crystal specimens, some of which are polished and/or sliced.

Clarity

Clarity describes the degree of visible inclusions in a gemstone. Since papagoite crystals are usually quite small, inclusions aren’t a huge value factor.

However, the type of papagoite inclusions inside quartz can change the quartz’s value. Papagoite can occur in quartz as:

• Thin veins

• Encrustations

• Phantom crystals

• Snowballs (fuzzy, melted crystals)

• Sheets and rings of microcrystalline, radiating aggregates

Overall, brighter, more widespread blue papagoite in more translucent quartz crystals generally carries higher value.

Carat Weight & Size

Massive papagoite material, usually mixed with quartz, can be cut into somewhat large cabochons reaching multiple inches. Larger material that maintains high-quality can be more valuable.

Pictured above: Papagoite, ajoite, and copper in quartz crystal specimen from South Africa

Papagoite Formation & Sources

Papagoite is a secondary mineral, meaning it forms when other (primary) minerals undergo alterations from various factors. Most often, primary minerals inside granodiorite become altered into papagoite.

As such, papagoite is usually found within narrow veins of altered granodiorite.

Common associated minerals include:

• Aurichalcite

• Shattuckite

• Ajoite

• Barite

• Quartz

• Hematite

• Tenorite

For quartz, papagoite enters the stone as an inclusion as the quartz forms. Other mineral inclusions that can make quartz blue include:

• Dumortierite (most common)

• Lazulite

• Ajoite

• Chrysocolla

• Indicolite tourmaline

• Shattuckite

Now, where is papagoite found geographically?

Mining Locations

The best individual papagoite material (not solely in quartz) comes from Arizona (USA), the only currently known American locale. The best papagoite in quartz gems come from South Africa.

Other significant papagoite sources are:

• Namibia

• Slovakia

• Russia

• Peru

Pictured above: Porcupine-like cluster of quartz crystals with bright blue papagoite inclusions from South Africa | Image credit: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0

Papagoite Price & Value

As mentioned up top, most papagoite for sale is papagoite in quartz, though not all.

Papagoite cabochons are generally around $1 to $5 per carat, or about $80 to $200 each. Rough papagoite (not in quartz) goes for about $50 up to $25,750 each.

The price of papagoite in quartz cabochons range from around $15 to $90 per carat, or around $130 to $775 each. Rough quartz with papagoite (often with other inclusions like ajoite too) starts around $50 to $300 for smaller specimens.

Larger, attractive specimens of papagoite in quartz can range from around $300 to $2,000 and even upwards of $30,000 for some.

For jewelry, you can find papagoite in quartz pendants for around $80 to $200. Ajoite and papagoite (mixed together) earrings go for about $85 to $150.

Papagoite Care and Maintenance

In terms of any toxicity, papagoite contains copper, making it low-risk. The main caution is for anyone cutting the gem, who should wear safety equipment.

For gemstone care, remember that papagoite individually is less durable than papagoite in quartz. Papagoite jewelry should have protective settings.

As such, only clean papagoite with warm water, mild soap, and a soft toothbrush.

Papagoite: A Blue Crystal of Paradise!

Papagoite’s gorgeous blue color evokes calming ocean waves and expansive skies, reflecting this crystal’s soothing yet transformative properties. This rarity is a delight to the eyes on its own and brings a vibrance to any ordinary quartz!

Buy papagoite and more pretty gemstones today!